Without getting into the right-or-wrong-of-it-all or the for-better-or-worse-of-it-all we'll just say tonight that the East Village is changing and has changed irreversably . The "Cave" artist commune was the last of the illegal East Village squats and it has now been gone for nearly 2 years . The building at 120 St. Marks Place that the "Cave" occupied has been demolished and replaced by a new building of which we have posted many times here at NMNL .

Most recently we posted again of this new 120 St. Marks Place building 5 posts ago on 12 December . Tonight we just ammended that post ( PLEASE RETURN TO THIS PREVIOUS 12 DEC. POST AND READ THE ADDITIONAL COMMENTARY ) adding more damning comentary to the story of the new 120 St. Marks Place .

The "Cave" commune was started 5 years or so ago by Mike Matel , Demetrius and Maze . Many were soon to join the commune including Eddie ,Myles Emory and Shelby Voice , Jerry Faust , Noah Ryder ,Lisa Renko and of course Jim "Mosaic Man " Power and super-star dog Jesse Jane .

It is difficult to say whether the "Cave" was more a drinking and drugging society or more a society of artists . Probably it is fairly represented as all of the above . Many an evening was nothing but a ribald drunken frenzy . But along with all the dissipative behavior some painting and sculpture was done ... things were created and sometimes actually sold .

Here we present a selection of veiws of the "Cave" and some of it's members and their work .